Refrigerator cabinet having means for regulating air flow and means for collecting drip



July 24, 1951 o. E NORBERG Erm. 25529057 REFRIGERATOR CABINET HAVING MEANS FOR REGULATING AIR mow AND MEANS Foa COLLECTING DRIP 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 4, 1949 am A T T Ys BY *l 'y Fuly 24, i951 '0. E. NORBERG Erm. 2552,05?

REFRrGmToR CABINET HAVING MEANS FOR REGULATING AIR FLOW AND MEANS FOR COLLECTING DRIP Filed Oct. 4, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Miei July 24, 1951 o. E. NORBERG ErAL 2,562,657

REFRIGERATOR CABINET HAVING MEANS FOR REGULATING AIR FLow AND MEANS FOR COLLECTING DRIP Filed oct. 4, 194s 4 sheets-sheet s I N VEN TORS. y scar E.' Herberg By lfrcd E/Ydve au l v Patented July 24, l1951 REFRIGERATOR CABINET HAVING MEANS FOR REGULATING AIR FLOW AND MEANS FOR COLLECTING DRIP Oscar E. Norberg and Alfred E. Nave, Cincinnati,

Ohio, assignors to Aveo Manufacturing Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Dela- Application October 4, 1949, Serial No. 119,432

9 Claims. (C l. 62-103) This invention relates to a refrigerator cabinet and more particularly to refrigerator cabinets of the household type having a plurality of compartments to be maintained at dierent temperatures.

An object of this. invention is to provide a novel cabinet construction for a refrigerator cabinet which will provide for maximum storage space within the cabinet.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel door shelf arrangement for permitting air flow between the door and the rear edge of the door shelves.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cabinet cooled by an evaporator and including a freezing compartment formed by a baille spaced below the evaporator in which a novel air ilow control means is positioned to direct drip water from the evaporator to the baille during defrosting of the evaporator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel door associated with a freezing compartment formed by a baille disposed below an evaporator in which the door includes means for collecting drip water from the evaporator and means for directing such water onto the baille during defrosting of the evaporator.

Another object of this invention is to provide, in a refrigerator of the class described, a novel damper for regulating air flow between the evapdrator and food storage compartment, for regulating air now through the freezing compartment located below the evaporator, for controlling the rate of air circulation through the door shelves and positioned to direct drip water from the evaporator onto the bottom wall of the freezing compartment.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel door shelf arrangement whereby the rear edge of the door shelf is automatically spaced from the door liner when the shelf is mounted upon the liner. l

These and other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet embodying the principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the refrigerator taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l when the door is closed;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the upper portion of the cabinet illustrating the details ot the relative location of the doors "leading to the freezing compartments and a pan for Vvretaiiing drip water;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a partially sectiohal view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 iri'which the freezer storage compartment door is omitted and one side 'of the baiile is shown in phantom illustrating the damper control mechanism lmounted on the baiiie;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6 6 of Fig. 5 further illustrating the horizontal baille, and mounting means for the same;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line I-l of Fig. 5 and including the damper at the rearof the baiile;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a front view of the damper;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken Aalong the line Ill-I0 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 11 is a sectional View pf the cabinet door inner liner and shelf taken along the line I I-II of Fig. l0 illustrating the door shelf mounting on the liner.

In the drawings there is shown a refrigerator cabinet I0 having a food storage compartment I2 to be maintained at above-freezing temperatures, va door I4 for providing access to` a rst freezing compartment I6l which comprises the interior of an evaporator I8, a door 20 for providing access to'a second freezing compartment 22 positioned immediately below the evaporator, -and a machinery compartment 24 positioned below the food storage compartment I2. The evaporator I8 may be of the horizontal type extending across the full width of the refrigerator at the top thereof and formed of embossed plates secured together to provide passages I8a and I8b through which refrigerant iiows in the process of evaporation. AThe walls of the cabinet are formed of an outer metal shell 26 and a spaced inner shell 28, preferably moulded of a material having good heat insulating qualities, with thermal insulation such as glass wool disposed in the space between the shells. A breaker strip 30 extends between the inner and outer shells and lies in the plane of the front Awall of the cabinet to provide a cabinet having a flat front. The evaporator serves to coolcompartment I2 and to provide freezing temperatures in compartments I6 and 22. Shelves 44 and crispers 46 are placed within compartment I2 and extend forwardly in the ccbinetto the plane of the front wall of the cabinet (breaker strip 3E!) so that all of the space within compartment i2 becomes useful for the storage of food.

as particularly shown in Figs. 4 through 6, a horizontally disposed baffle 32 is positioned below and spaced from evaporator i8 a suillcient distance to form, together with the vertical walls or the inner liner, a freezing compartment immediately beneath the evaporator, which compartment is adapted to receive ice trays and frozen foods. Baie 32 is formed oi a top panel 3B of moulded plastic and a bottom dish-shaped panel 36 also of moulded plastic. insulation such as glass wool (not shown) is disposed between the panels so that the baille insulates compartment i2 from freezing compartment 22 throughout the width and depth ci the baille. Both panels are sealed together, preferably by use of a plastic solvent so that the baille is impervious to moisture. A nozzle 38 extends downwardly from panel 34, which nozzle permits drip water from evaporator i8 to drain into a pan mounted on baille 32 during defrosting of the evaporator. A raised rim i2 extends entirely around the periphery of panel 36 to prevent'drip water from running oi of the bale. Panel 3d is inclined downwardly from rim i2 to nozzle 33 to direct drip water caught by the baille to the nozzle. The baille is slidably supported in the cabinet by means of U- shaped channel sections t secured to each side wall of the inner liner (see Fig. 6). Pan I0 is slidably supported by baille 32 by means of a pair of L-shaped supports secured to the under-surface oi the baille.

As particularly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. baille 32 extends rearwardly in the cabinet so that rim 42 at the rear of baille 32 is disposed beneath the rear wall of evaporator i8. The rear wall o f the inner liner is bulged outwardly toward the outer shell as at 5l below the evaporator and rearwardly of baille 32 to .provide an air passage 55 rearwardly of the baille. A damper 50 is positioned in the air passage and is supported for rotation about a horizontal axis formed by a rod 52 extending horizontally across the passage 55 and secured to the inner liner of the cabinet by means of spaced clips 54. The damper is preferably formed of sheet metal such as stainless steel and includes a generally V-shaped portion 58 and an arm 56 extending substantially at right angles to one side of the V-section. The other side of the V-section is curled at its end to receive the support rod 52. Thus, in its assembled position in the cabinet, the side of the damper by which the damper is supported for rotation about the rod presents a downwardly inclined surface 60 extending from the plane of the reary wall of the cabinet to a point above the baille 32 and a downwardly extending surface 5G disposed in the cabinet recess rearwardly of the baille and extending downwardly beneath the baille. A rubber flap 59 is provided on the lower edge of surface 56 to insure a proper seal between the damper and cabinet recess when a minimum of ail' circulation into the food storage compartment is desired. A spring 62 ounted on rod 52 maintains the damper so t at the damper is' normally biased toward an open .position in which maximum airflow is .permitted .through the air passage or cabinet recess. Spring l2, shown in side view in Fig. 7, has two outillustrated in Fig. 4, the airflow is primarily between the surface 56 and the rear wall 51 of the recess. When the damper is in its closed position as indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 4, the airflow is of a very restricted nature and occurs through the narrow passage between arm 5S and the end of baille 32. It is to be noted that the downwardly inclined surface SU extends above baille 32 and over rim d2 irrespective of the position of the damper in the air passage. Thus, surface 30 is .positioned to direct drip water, which drops from the rear portion of evaporator i8 during delrosting. onto the baille inwardly of the rim, irrespective of the position of the damper relative to the rear wall recess. When quick freezing or unusually low temperatures are desired in the evaporator or the second freezing compartment below the evaporator, the damper is adjusted to limit airilow into compartment l2 and through compartment 22 so that undesirably low temperatures do not occur in compartment i2. By limiting the airilow through the air .passage colder temperatures are attained in compartment 22; and baille 32 due to its insulation prevents undesirably low temperatures in compartment i2. Again, in the winter or when ambient temperatures external of the cabinet are relatively low. as for example, a room maintained at 60 F., it is desirable to restrict airflow into compartment I2 so that freezing temperatures may be maintained in the freez ing compartments without having undesirable freeze-ups in compartment l2.

In order to control the position of damper 50 relative to the wall recess, a damper control generally indicated as 64 (see Figs. 5-8) is mounted on the bottom of baille 32. The damper control includes a ilat metal pusher plate 66 which is slidably mounted on the baille by means of a pair of slots 68, each having a downwardly extending boss 'I0 depending from the baffle and extending therethrough. A screw or rivet 12 having a washer 'i4 thereon extends through each slot and into each boss to slidably retain the push rod on the baille. A bell crank lever 16 is mounted for rotary movement about a downwardly extending boss 19 on the bottom of the baille and oilset from the line of travel of push rod 63. All of the aforementioned bosses extend through the mechanism mounted thereon so that the screw or rivet may not be tightened to such a degree as would prevent relative movement of the push rod and bell crank lever with respect to the baille. The short arm 82, of bell crank lever is provided with a struck-up prong or boss 83 which extends through an opening 8l in push rod B6 in order to transfer motion from the bell crank lever to the pusher plate. The long arm 88 of the bell crank lever extends forwardly of the baille 32 and is provided with a handle 90 so that the bell crank lever may be moved about its pivot point 19. A curved bracket 82 mounted on the bottom of the baille serves to support the arm 88 intermediate the pivot point of the bell crank lever and handle 9'0 to prevent breakage of the baille due to downward pressure which might be applied to handle 90 (see Fig. 5).

In Figs, 3 and 4 details of door 20 are shown. The door is hinged for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis by means of conventional hinges |00 secured to the side walls of the cabinet. The door is preferably spring loaded to normally assume its closed position illustrated in Fig. 4. It will be noted that the top of door 20 is positioned outwardly from the bottom of door I4 so that most of the drip water from door Il will normally fall on baille 32 inwardly of door 20. Also, it will be noted that the top of door 20 is spaced below the bottom of door I4 to provide a free. space for the flow of air into compartment 22 when the door is closed. In order to catch any drip water that may run down the outer surface of the door during defrosting of the evaporator |8, door 20 is provided with a raised rim |02 extending horizontally across the outer face of the door and providing a trough |04 between the raised portion |02 and the outer surface of the door. A plurality of openings |06 are provided in the door panel to permit water entering trough |04 to flow from the trough through the door panel. A downwardly inclined baille |08, coextensive in length with trough |04. is provided on the inner surface of the door panel to direct water over the rim 42 at the front of the baffle 32. Thus, any defrost water running down either the front or rear surface of door 20 is directed onto baille 32 inwardly of rim 42.

As shown in Figs. l, 2, 10 and 11, the cabinet I0 is provided with a door ||0 for providing access to the interior of the cabinet. Door ||0 is provided with a plurality of door shelves ||2 disposed substantially entirely within a door recess ||4 on the inner door liner IIB. In refrigerators of conventional design it has been common practice to mount door shelves on the refrigerator` door. Such structures, however, have always been arranged to extend within the cabinet proper in order to insure proper cooling of foodstuffs placed on the door shelves. In order to accommodate `the door shelves within the cabinet, it has been necessary to cut back the cabinet shelves so that no net storage space is provided over a cabinet having shelves extending forwardlyto the front of the cabinet but not having door shelves. It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the door shelves are disposed substantially entirely within the door recess and lie forwardly of the plane of the front wall of the cabinet (breaker strip 30) when the door is closed. Thus, the cabinet shelves and crispers extend forwardly in the cabinet substantially to the breaker stripso that the door shelf space represents increased' v useful storage space while at the same timemaximum use of shelf space Within the cabinet is possible.

The refrigeration of foodstuffs consists both in the removal of heat from the food placed in the cabinet and in keeping outside heat from penetrating the refrigerated compartment. The removal of heat is accomplished by convention currents set up within the cabinet and heat leakage into the cabinet is minimized by the use of insulation. In spite of the insulation used to reduce heat flow into the cabinet, it is well known that a large percentage of the heat entering the cabinet leaks in through the door side of the cabinet since the door insulation is not normally as thick as that used in the remainder of the cabinet and due to other causes. The door shelves utilized for food storageA are one-piece shelves of moulded plastic including a solid impervious base |20 and a vertical upstanding flange |22 at the front'of the shelf.

The shelves are mounted to the door inner liner ||6 by means of studs |26 and |28 bonded to the vertical rail |22 and the rear edge of horizontal base |20, respectively. Each stud extends through an opening in the door inner liner into the interior of the door and is adapted to receive a conventional fastener such 6 asa nut or speed nut to prevent accidental removal of the shelf from the liner. Studs |20 are formed with a spacer boss |30 so that the rear edge of the shelf is automatically spaced from the door inner liner when assembled to the liner. At the same time, vertical rail |22 lies substantially flush with liner exterior of the door recess. By this arrangement, the door shelves may be quickly, easily, and inexpensively assembled to the inner liner of the door and the spacing between the rear edge of the shelves and the door liner accurately maintained in large scale manufacture.

Thus, a clear, unrestricted passage is provided between the rear edge of each shelf and the door liner throughout the door recess. In this manner any Warm air leaking into the door recess is permitted to rapidly rise to the upper portion of the cabinet without entering the cabinet proper and without having an adverse effect upon foodstuffs placed on the door shelves.

As shown by the arrows in Fig. 2, the convection currents in the cabinet travel downwardly through air passage 55 rearwardly of damper 50 when the damper is open, then upwardly through compartment I2 and between the rear edge of the door shelves and the door liner so that heat entering the door recess is permitted to rise upwardly without entering compartment |2. The currents then pass through freezing compartment 22 in a rearwardly direction toward damper 50. Damper 50, as heretofore pointed out, at no time completely shuts off air passage 55, but in its closed position permits limited airflow between'the baffle 32 and damper. Thus, damper 50 regulates air flow between compartment l2, compartment. 22 and through the air passage rearwardly of the door shelves. Balile 32 functions as a removable insulated wall between compartment 22 and I2, acts to collect drip water from evaporator I8, supports the manual means for varying the position of damper 50 in air passage 55, slidably supports a drip collecting pan, and directs condensation into the pan.

By this construction there is provided a novel cabinet construction in which the door shelves are automatically spaced from the door liner to provide a vertical flue for air flow when mounted tothe liner, a horizontal baffle arranged v to collect drip water and to provide a freezing compartment below the evaporator, a door adapted to collect drip water from the evaporator and to direct the same into the baille, and av control baille for regulating air flow through the freezing compartment, between the freezingA compartment and a food storage compartment to be vmaintained at above freezing temperatures, and adapted to direct drip water from the evaporato'rto the horizontal baille lrrespectiv 'fof thev position of the control baffle in the cabinet,

l. In a household refrigerator of the type including an cute hell and an inner liner spaced from said ou 1lv forming the walls of the cabinet, insulat etween said shell and liner. an evaporator within/said cabinet forming a first freezing compartment, a horizontally disposed bale spaced below said evaporator forming with the vertical walls of said inner liner a second freezing compartment between said evaporator and baffle adapted to receive vice trays, an air passage rearwardly of said baille. a damper positioned in said air passage for regulatin'g airflow therethrough, said damper having a portion thereof extending over said baille irrespective of the position of said damper in said passage for directing drip Water from said evaporator onto said baffle, and means for moving said damper in said passage for regulating airflow therethrough.

2. In a household refrigerator of the type including an outer shell and an inner liner spaced from said outer shell forming the walls of the cabinet, insulation between said shell and liner, an evaporator within said cabinet forming a first freezing compartment, a horizontally disposed baflle spaced below said evaporator forming with the vertical walls of said liner a second freezing compartment between said evaporator and baille adapted to receive ice trays, the rear walls of said inner liner below said evaporator being bulged outwardly toward the outer shell to provide an air passage rearwardly of said baille, a damper positioned in said air passage for regulating air flow therethrough, said damper presenting a surface extending over said baille irrespective of the position of said damper in said passage for directing drip water from said evaporator onto said baille, and means for moving said damper in said passage for regulating airflow therethrough.

3. In a household refrigerator of the type including an outer shell and an inner liner spaced from said outer shell forming the walls of the cabinet, insulation between said shell and inner liner, an evaporator within said cabinet forming a first freezing compartment, a horizontally disposed baille spaced below said evaporator and forming with the vertical walls of said liner a :econd'freezing compartment between said evaporator and baille adapted to receive' ice trays, the rear wall of said inner liner below said evaporator and adjacent the rear of said baille being bulged outwardly toward said outer shell to provide an air passage rearwardly of said baflle,' a damper positioned for rotation about a horizontal axis in said passage, said damper including one surface adapted to be moved relative to the rear wall of said inner liner for varying the effective size of said passage and a second surface extendtion.:

4. In a household refrigerator of the type including an cuter shell and an inner liner spaced fromsaid outer shell forming the walls of the cabinet, insulation between said shell and liner. an evaporator within said cabinet forming a first freezing compartment. a horizontally disposed baille spaced belcw said evaporator forming with the vertical walls of said inner liner a second freezing compartment between said evaporator and baille adapted to receive ice trays, an air passage rearwardly of said baille, means posi-A tioned in said passage for directing drip water from said evaporator ontosaid baille, a door for providing access to said second freezing compartment, and means associated with said door for directing drip water from said evaporator ontov said baille. l

5. In a refrigerator of the household type` including an outer shell and an inner liner spaced kfrom said-outer-shell forming the walls -of the cabinet, insulation between said shell and liner', an evaporator within said cabinet forming a first freezing compartment, a horizontally disposed baille spaced below said evaporator forming with the vertical walls of said liner a second freezing compartment adapted to receive ice trays, a door forproviding access to said second freezing compartment, a trough on the outer side of said door for catching drip water from said evaporator, an opening extending through said door in communication with said trough, and an inclined surface extending inwardly from said door for directing drip water from said opening to said baille.

6. In a household refrigerator of the type including an outer shell and an inner liner spaced from said outer shell forming the walls of the cabinet, insulation between said shell and liner, an evaporator within said cabinet forming a first freezing compartment, a horizontally disposed baille spaced below said evaporator forming with f the vertical walls of said liner a second freezing compartment adapted to receive ice trays, an air passage rearwardly of said baille, an inclined surface positioned in said passage and extending over said bale for directing drip water from said evaporator onto said baille, a door for providing access to said second freezing compartment, a trough on the outer side of said door for catching drip water from said evaporator, an opening ex-,f tending through said door in communication with said trough, and an inclined surface securedto the inner side of said door for directing drip water from said opening to said baille.

'7. In a household refrigerator of the type including an outer shell and an inner liner spaced from said outer shell cforming the walls of the cabinet, insulation between said shell and liner, an evaporator within said cabinet forming a rst rfreezing compartment, a horizontally disposed baille spaced below said evaporator forming with the vertical walls of said liner a second freezing compartment adapted to receive ice trays, an air passage rearwardly of said baille, a damper positioned in said passage, a door for providing access to said cabinet, a recess in said door for receiving door shelves, vertically spaced door shelves disposed wholly within said recess, shelves in said cabinet extending forwardly to the plane of the front wall of the cabinet, said door shelves being :paced from said door at the rear of each shelf to permit airflow intermediate the rear of the shelves and said door, and means for varying the position of said damper to regulate airflow through said cabinet and said door recess.

8. In a household refrigerator of the type having walls defining a main refrigerated cabinet accessible through an opening in the forward face thereof, a door pivotally secured to the cabinet adjacent the opening, said door being formed to define a recess in its inner face, a plurality of horizontally disposed shelves secured to the inner face of said door and positioned substantially within the recess thereof, said shelves comprising base portions having rearv edges and integral spacer means positioned on said rear edges and Vabutting the inner face of said door, the rear 9. In a refrigerator of the type including top.V

bottom, side and rear walls defining a refrigerator cabinet; an evaporator within said cabinetI forming a first freezing compartment; a horizontally disposed baffle spaced below said evaporator forming with the vertical side walls of said cabinet a second freezing compartment; an air passage rearwardly of said baie; a door providing access to said cabinet, said door being formed toA dene a recess in the inner face thereof; horizontally disposed vertically spaced door shelves positioned within said recess, said door shelves having solid base portions spaced from said door at their rear edges adjacent the inner face of said door; whereby currents of air within said cabinet can move past said evaporator, through the air passage at the rear of said baille, and

1 Number 10 between the rear of said shelves and the inner face of said door.

OSCAR E. NORBERG. ALFRED E. NAVE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

l UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,898,922 West Feb. 21, 1933 2,292,032 Atchison Aug. 4, 1942 2,297,581 Peltier Sept. 29, 1942 2,327,672 Schweller Aug. 24, 1943 15 2,434,117 Money et al Jan. 6, 1948 2,473,322 Yoxsimer June 14, '1949 

